December 12, 2011

Police vs. Occupy: Who's Protecting Whom Against What?

You know, you look at these pictures of riot police filming their arrests of Occupy protesters, and it lends the impression that there is some kind of care, order and sanity to the whole dance, rather than just a matter of CYA, especially when there are so many other eyes around. And then on a larger level, the concern and perception that “the authorities” are “operating by the book” is that much more Catch-22 when you consider that these protests are symptomatic of an economic system that has largely lost the capacity for inspection and enforcement.

(photos: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images caption: A man is arrested by Long Beach Police Department officers after protestors blocked the road leading to SSA Marine, a shipping company that is partially owned by investment bank Goldman Sachs at the Port of Long Beach on December 12, 2011 in Long Beach, California. Following a general strike coordinated by Occupy Oakland that closed the Oakland port on November 2 hundreds are expected to try and shut down all West Coast ports as Occupy movements in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, Portland, Seattle and Tacoma have joined the demonstration..)